Taekwondo Wiki
Explore
Main Page
Discuss
All Pages
Community
Interactive Maps
Recent Blog Posts
Wiki Content
Recently Changed Pages
Do-San
Dan-Gun
Original Masters
Susmita Islam
List of U.S. State Taekwondo Associations
List of Taekwondo Associations
Taegeuk Ee Jang
Videos
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Il Jang
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Ee Jang
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Sam Jang
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Sa Jang
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Oh Jang
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Yuk Jang
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Chil Jang
Person
Kyu Hyung Lee
Chuck Norris
Jessica Alba
Byung Jick Ro
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Barack Obama
Willie Nelson
Community
Help
FANDOM
Fan Central
BETA
Games
Anime
Movies
TV
Video
Wikis
Explore Wikis
Community Central
Start a Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Sign In
Sign In
Register
Taekwondo Wiki
919
pages
Explore
Main Page
Discuss
All Pages
Community
Interactive Maps
Recent Blog Posts
Wiki Content
Recently Changed Pages
Do-San
Dan-Gun
Original Masters
Susmita Islam
List of U.S. State Taekwondo Associations
List of Taekwondo Associations
Taegeuk Ee Jang
Videos
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Il Jang
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Ee Jang
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Sam Jang
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Sa Jang
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Oh Jang
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Yuk Jang
Grand Master Kyu Hyung Lee - WTF Taegeuk Chil Jang
Person
Kyu Hyung Lee
Chuck Norris
Jessica Alba
Byung Jick Ro
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Barack Obama
Willie Nelson
Community
Help
Editing
Taekwondo Self Defense
Back to page
Edit
Edit source
View history
Talk (0)
Edit Page
Taekwondo Self Defense
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit appears to have already been undone.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
[[File:StreetFight1.png|thumb|250px|A street fight involving taekwondo from YouTube]] [[File:Taekwondo is USELESS for self defense|thumb|right|250 px|A typical (but not particularly well-informed) criticism of taekwondo (the authors base their criticism of taekwondo on just the style taught in their school; in reality, different schools approach self-defense training very differently).]] Taekwondo is sometimes criticized as not being the most effective martial arts when it comes to '''self defense '''(hosinsool, <span style="font-family:Batang;font-size:10pt;">호신술). </span>Arguably, there may be some merit to this critique: martial arts such as Krav Maga and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) intentionally incorporate new techniques from many diverse martial arts in order to maximize their lethality. Others, such as Kung Fu and Ninjutsu, prefer to stick to their traditional roots. Taekwondo tends to fall somewhere in between these two extremes. For self defense, taekwondo is not without its advocates: *When taekwondo was originally developed (see: [[Traditional Taekwondo]]), its focus was indeed combat (in fact, military combat) rather than sport. Pioneer practitioners such as [[Nam Tae Hi]] were famous for their lethality. Even now, taekwondo styles such as [[ITF Taekwon-do|ITF-style]], [[Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo|Jhoon Rhee]] taekwondo, and [[Chun Kuk Do]] place a strong emphasis on the self defense aspects of the art. *More than some martial arts, taekwondo tends to emphasize kicking, especially high kicking, the idea being that your legs are longer and stronger than your arms and therefore should be more effective in a fight. That's if - and this is a big if - ''if'' you can train your legs to become as fast as your arms. Human reflexes in the arms are inherently, biologically faster than in their legs. With training, however, some people can also make their legs lightning fast. Especially if one wants the fight to be over quickly, the ability to close fast and strike hard while still out of your opponent's arm reach can be very effective. In practice, most self-defense situations do not involve a "fair" fight. Most real-world situations are not one-on-one fights between two unarmed people. In practice, most self-defense situations involve muggers, rapists, gang members, etc. who come to the fight armed, in a group, and who ambush you. Generally speaking, the best self-defense is to be aware of your surroundings, avoid dangerous situations, and to know how to de-escale confrontations. That having been said, in the very rare "fair" fight the style of martial art being practiced is arguably less important than other factors such as the sizes and ages of the opponents (bigger and younger usually win), fitness level (both strength and stamina), reaction time, and aggressiveness (who is willing to "break bones" first). The practice of ''any'' martial art is generall going to improve your fitness level and reaction time. == Self Defense Training == [[File:Real_Life.jpg|thumb|right|300px]] Taekwondo schools that train for self defense may incorporate many of the following elements: * Training in street clothes rather than taekwondo uniforms * Education in how to be more aware of one's surroundings, with emphasis on potential threatening situations * Training in environments outside the taekwondo school (parking lots, alleys, etc.) * Avoidance of combat via techniques such as verbal de-escalation and calls for assistance * Training to escape or evade a threatening situation * Self defense against armed attackers * Self defense against multiple attackers * Identification and use-of improvised weapons * Self defense from ground positions (e.g., grappling) * Self defense when at a disadvantage (hands full of groceries, protecting a child, etc.) * Understanding of laws pertaining to the use of self defense * What to do ''after'' defending one's self (getting to safety, calling the authorities, getting medical attention) == Applications of Taekwondo Forms == In Japanese, the term '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunkai bunkai]''' refers to the analysis of karate forms (kata) in the context of self-defense. The equivalent Korean term is '''hae seol'''. These analyses are undertaken to illustrate how techniques that are practiced in taekwondo forms may be used for self-defense. Some examples: [[File:The application of Taekwondo Poomsae on actual fight 태권도 품새 - 실전 응용 액션|thumb|left|670px]] {{Whiteline}} [[File:실전 태권도 Taekwondo - Lee Dong Hee|thumb|left|670 px]] {{Whiteline}} ==References== *[[Sang H. Kim]]'s On the Use of Taekwondo for Self-Defense on [http://www.amazon.com/Taekwondo-Self-defense-Sang-H-Kim-ebook/dp/B009VLZFGI Amazon.com] *Taekwondo Self Defense on [http://www.taekwondoanimals.com/taekwondo-self-defense.asp Taekwondo Animals] *http://www.centralfloridatangsoodo.com/uploads/ho_sin_sul_self-defense_tec.pdf *http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/14-tae-kwon-do/116049-tkd-tips-tactics.html ===Videos ('''Warning: Intense Content''')=== There are numerous "real world fight" videos on YouTube, many of which involve the kinds of high, turning kicks associated with taekwondo. Those types of videos are not embedded here due to their intense content. Examples however can be seen here: *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvSTVp6a19A *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QUqnjA4XsE *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYUb--qGkMc *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwpywVd2cfc *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh0gLD64zzk The use of taekwondo or any martial art for anything other than self defense is not advocated, and in fact runs contrary to essentially all martial arts, including taekwondo. In taekwondo, this philosophy is symbolized by the fact that essentially all taekwondo forms (hyeong, poomsae, and teul) begin with a block rather than a strike. The assumption in all taekwondo practice is that the student is responding to an attack. [[Category:Taekwondo]]
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to the Taekwondo Wiki are considered to be released under the CC-BY-SA
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Template used on this page:
Template:Whiteline
(
view source
)
Follow on IG
TikTok
Join Fan Lab